Vehicles are comprised of a host of independent and interdependent systems, subsystems, and components. Primary and secondary controllers process various signals transmitted by physical sensors to determine the proper functioning of the sensors and related onboard systems. An example of a physical sensor is a temperature sensor.
In a typical hybrid vehicle, a temperature sensor may monitor an electric motor using one or more thermistors. The temperature sensor at the electric motor may measure the temperature of the motor windings. The primary and/or secondary controllers may include diagnostic logic that is hardcoded to determine a fault at the temperature sensor. The diagnostic logic ordinarily must be calibrated based on a particular temperature sensing circuit. An incorrect diagnostic detection for the temperature sensor may impact performance of the electric motor. As a result, conventional temperature diagnostic logic may not adequately diagnose a thermistor of the temperature sensor.